A REVIEW OF "MANDELA A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM"

Today I finally got round to watching the movie that everybody is raving about "Mandela A Long Walk To Freedom". But to be honest, after all the hype I was dissappointed. Having read the book, there appears to be important sections of Nelson Mandela's life that have been left out, like his inaugration as the first black president of South Africa. Even though it was mentioned there were no "flashback scenes" to remind us of that great day. And what about his trips to Botswana and other neighbour African countries? No mention was made. They could have made an epic movie with an intermission like "Ghandi" or one of those classic British movies. It would have ben a bit longer that the 141 minutes of the current film, but who would have complained? Here we have the life of an incredible man who became a world icon, and nothing was said about his joy of South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup back in 1995 or the joy on his face when he held the Fifa World Cup aloft to celebrate South Africa's hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. So much more could have been done with this story. A big disappointment to me. Feel free to leave your own reviews/comments below.

MY NEW MOBILE PHONE

After using a Blackberry for over 6 years, and getting frustrated with the limited apps available such as blogging on the move, I decided to do something about it. A friend of mine had purchased the MTN STEPPA. It had a touch screen, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and games galore. And this blog was available in app form. My prayers were answered! All this for only R499! I obviously went and purchased one and not a moment to soon as they were sold out countrywide! I now have two cellphones and will use one as a backup. Oh and the phone has Instagram too. I'm slowly getting used to the touchscreen and have surprised myself by writing this post using the blog app available. This is marvellous!

WHO WILL BE THE BIGGEST FOOL TODAY?

Don't read newspapers or the social media today. Why? Because today being April Fool's Day anything can happen. This morning I logged onto Facebook and my timeline was flooded with April Fool jokes, from Helen Zille upgrading her residence; mermaids being discovered off the coast of Africa; to the green and gold Springbok rugby jersey being changed to red and gold. The fact is don't believe anything you read  today because chances are it is an April Fool's joke! LOL

CRICKET BAT OR GUNSHOT?

It's day 11 of the Oscar Pistorious Murder Trial, people everywhere are sitting glued to their TV's, laptops and social medias such as Twitter and Facebook. This is rivetting stuff and has all the makings of another Hollywood blockbuster, even the comedians are finding enough material to tweet a string of jokes about defence lawyer Barry Roux. When the Proteas cricket team played at Centurion on Friday, it was said that he notified ADT (a local security company) because he thought it was a gun battle going on! I am told that there are still over a hundred witnesses still to take the stand and that is not including the murder accused himself. Listening to the testimonies so far, I get the impression that Oscar was a "loose cannon" who liked guns. But the matter at hand asks the question: "Did he kill Reeva, intentionally or not"? The lady at the chemist believes that the two had an argument and that he hit her with the cricket bat and she ran to the bathroom bleeding and screaming. She locked the door and still screamed as Oscar attempted to break down the door with the bloodied cricket bat. (You will remember last year a bloodied cricket bat was found at the scene). The fatal shots followed because he wanted to keep her quiet. Photos of a bloodied duvet were shown in court which don't make sense. Oscar has a lot of explaining to do and by the way I see it (excuse the pun) he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Why would an intruder turn on the bathroom light? Why would an intruder lock themselves in the toilet? That night Reeva was scared of Oscar and feared for her life! Defence lawyer Barry Roux is trying his best to win the case for Oscar, by suggesting that he screams like a woman. And what about the sound of a cricket bat being struck against a maranti door? Does it sound like a gunshot? No wonder Twitter comics made fun of the fact by saying that Mr Roux took part in the Argus Cycle Race, and struggled to start peddling because he was waiting for the sound of a cricket bat being hit against a maranti door. And then what about the woman interpreter who couldn't speak English properly when she attempted to translate from Afrikaans to English. I believe she was shown the door later in the day. I wonder if we will have another entertaining day in court? Let me go switch the TV on..........

WE LOVE DURBAN



The walkabout (tour) of the airport building.





Some of the bloggers and tweeters who attended the event.



A few weeks ago, on the 21st Febuary 2014 to be exact, I attended my very first social media event held  in conjuction with eThekwini Municipality,  I LUV DURBAN and Carver Media at King Shaka International Durban. This was also another first for me as it was my first visit to Durban's new international airport. This was not the first media event held by Carver Media for the WE LOVE DURBAN campaign as it was launched two weeks prior at Durban's other landmark, The Moses Mabhida Stadium. I was accompanied by three other social media fans/friends and a very enjoyable evening was had by all. Lucky draws were held during the evening's proceedings, and I was lucky enough to win the first prize of the evening of 6 complimentary movie tickets courtsey of Sun Coast. Welcoming speeches were held including a speech and walkabout of the airport by Colin Naidoo, Communications & Brand Manager of King Shaka International Airport. The whole event was held in News Cafe at the airport and the walkabout included a view of the arrivals and departures hall which could handle large amounts of passengers and luggage.  Some of the invited guest were lucky enough to view the airports control room which is not normally shown to the public. An array of snacks and desserts were served "buffet" style. And by the end of the evening invited tweeters had gained a few followers, taken photos and made new friends. It was a very enjoyable evening and I look forward to be invited to the next #welovedurban event. 

   

SPEED KILLS!!!!

This is not local but maybe people will slow down after seeing
this.

There are several things I detest that people do when they get behind the wheel of vehicle. They are (in no particular order) : using a mobile/cellphone whilst driving (and not using a hands-free kit); drinking and driving; and speeding. In the past two weeks three local South African celebreties were caught and arrested for speeding......and two in one night! Talk about "killing two birds with one stone"........ Julius Malema was arrested on a Thursday evening somewhere near Jhburg for driving 215 km/h in a 120 km/h zone. It was reported that the vehicle he was driving was not his. He was granted R5,000 bail. Later the same evening in Bronkhorstspruit, Steve Hofmeyer (Afrikaans singer) was arrested for driving 169 km/h in an 80km/h zone. He only got R500 bail (I wonder why). And then on Sunday, singer Donald Moatshe was arrested outside Ballito on the KZN North Coast for driving 182 km/h in a 120km/h zone. Donald got R2,500 bail. Strangely the journalist reporting about Donald gives a description of the car he was a driving........ a silver Audi Q3. What were Steve and Julius driving at the time? Malema's car must have had a powerful engine to travel at 215km/h in a 120 km/h zone. And the bail they each recieved? How come Hofmeyer only got R500 bail? Travelling over the speed limit is a very serious crime to me. What happens if you kill your passengers? Or worse yet.........hit an innocent pedestrian? The courts are far too lenient with bail. Driver's licences should be revoked as rules of the road have been broken. Driver's arrested should end up doing hard labour or community service. How about a month in jail? That should cure. Below are the lyrics to a song "Speed Kills" by 70's rock band Ten Years After. It's about someone who speeds to the level crossing to get there before the train. Sadly he doesn't make it.......

Get on the ball boys
Let' catch that train and get on

Run your Chevy down the highway, doing 95
Got his V-8 engine buzzing like a hive
Gotta catch that mail train, just to stay alive

Well, he wrote his baby a letter when he was in pain
Well, he told his little baby, "Don't wanna see you again"
Well, he's gotta drop that letter, gotta catch that train

Gotta beat it to the crossing before he gets to town
Got to keep that whistle humming, keep it to the ground
Gotta catch that mail train, gotta flag it down, roll on boy

Well, he's squealing around the bend, tracks are getting near
Well, the roaring of the engine, passing in his ear
Hurry, he ain't gonna make it

THE SHOW MUST GO ON............

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
1918 - 2013

Before I pay my respects to one of the greatest icons, Nelson Mandela, many people are wondering why rhe blog title "The Show Must Go On". Dear readers and fellow bloggers since the 6th December 2013, South Africa has appeared to come to a standstill after President Zuma announced a 10 day mourning period for the passing of Nelson Mandela. When I say a standstill I mean issues like the releasing of the Nkandla Report have all been delayed during this period. Is this a trick so that the goverment hope that opposition parties will forget about these scandals? And the SABC is also going to lose revenue as they churn out programme after programe for days on end honouring Mandela, until they start repeating the repeats. By now people are wanting their channels back to normal. Why didn't the SABC do as DSTV is doing and create a special channel to show all the "Madiba" programmes? Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Nelson Mandela fan and was sad to hear that he had passed on, but the man was 95 years old and some of us may never reach that age. I'm sure that Madiba would have preferred a simple funeral service, over a couple of days and not 10 days as the ANC have done. In the words of the rock group, Queen.......who by the way did a lot for Mandela's various charities, he would have said "The show must go on........"
     Today South Africa will once again come to a standstill at 11am (SA time) as visiting heads of state, celebreties and other dignitaries converge on the FNB stadium in Soweto to attend a memorial service in honour of this great man. His funeral service will only take place on Sunday (15th December, 2013) in his hometown of Qunu in the Eastern Cape. Sadly by then Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's long walk to freedom will finally have come to an end. #RIPMadiba